And with such tasty fruit just ripe for the picking, it's no wonder studios are falling over themselves to take a bite. Witness Disney's latest entry, The Wild, which borrows heavily from the triple crown of its CGI predecessors, proving, in this case, that imitation is indeed the most insulting form of flattery.

Ripped straight from the terrain of 2005's Madagascar, The Wild takes place in the New York Zoo where the cuddly critters are living large on three square meals a day and an audience of adoring humans they hold court for. Kiefer Sutherland is the voice of Samson, a happily domesticated lion who must rescue his cub Ryan after he accidentally stows away on a shipping crate bound for Africa.

The premise dives deep into Finding Nemo waters - but instead of little Nemo's bum fin, it's little Ryan who can't find his roar. Frustrated with his inability to live up to his father's expectations, the young lion sets off on his own in an uncharacteristic, yet predictable, flash of rebellion, only to be put in danger at the hands of faceless humans.

Accompanying Samson on his rescue mission to the motherland is his wisecracking best friend, Benny the squirrel (Jim Belushi), a giraffe named Bridget (Janeane Garofalo), Larry the snake (Richard Kind), and, inscrutably, a British koala named Nigel - played by Eddie Izzard. (Obviously Mel and Russell weren't available.)

Chalk it up to Disney to include such an egregious case of cultural misappropriation, but at least they remain consistent in their liberal use of offensive stereotypes. Canada geese become scatterbrained, hoser Canadians ("no problem eh!") Pigeons become head-bobbing South Asians, and alligators are transformed into tuff tawkin' Noo-Yawk eye-talians.

Unlike films like Shrek and The Incredibles which come embedded with a welcome layer of subtext for the adults, The Wild comes with nary a wink or a nod, relying heavily on loud, fast-paced hi-jinx with cute animals splatting against walls to provide maximum laughs for the kids. This is a crudely stitched together patchwork quilt of a film, pillaged from the threadbare hand-me-downs of a string of ferociously successful offerings.

Journeys are taken, lessons are learned, friendships are forged, differences are set aside, and adventures of self-discovery are had. Both Samson and Ryan find their inner roar, learning they don't need to go to Africa - it turns out, "the wild" is within them.

Putting the shockingly derivative plot aside, it should be noted that The Wild is a technically excellent film. Animation has come so far, it's possible studios believe they can actually get away with substituting a solid script and excellent writing for technology alone. And with graphics that are this superbly rendered, perhaps they can. Watching the movement of each strand of fur on Samson's mane is remarkable, and the facial movements of the animals are so perfectly matched to voice, it's actually a little off-putting. Yet technical excellence does not a movie make, and with plot characterizations culled from a paint-by-numbers, crank-the-handle storyline, The Wild proves to be a tame, toothless affair.

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